US Interest in the Middle East

US Interest in the Middle East 

    Since the end of World War II, the United States has spent a great deal of time and money in the Middle East. Beginning with the creation of the state of Israel for the Jewish population of Europe who was displaced during the war, the United States has been attempting to transform the Middle East into a region that will support its hegemonic reign. The Middle East is also rich in oil, so it is in the United States’ best interest to have friendly ties to the countries in the region.

    Starting as early as the 1940s, the United States began to show its interest in the region, mostly due to the threat of the Soviet Union. The United States wanted to get the Middle East under its scope of power in order to keep it out of the Soviet’s hand. However, getting these countries under the United States’ influence would only be possible with the support of the countries’ leaders. Therefore, this is why Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson supported coups in the region, in the hopes that more pro-American leaders would rise to power. An underlying reason for the support of these coups seemed to be oil, as both Mosaddeq of Iran and Qassim of Iraq were going to nationalize the oil in the country, an act that was not in the interest of the United States. During the Nixon and Carter era, the Arab oil crisis revitalized the United States’ interest in the region, as their oil supply was being cut off by OPEC. This was then followed by the Soviet’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The United States’ response with the Carter Doctrine and Camp David Peace Accords points to the vested interest of keeping the Middle East in its sphere of influence. 

    With the end of the Cold War, came the ability of the United States to pull the Middle East into its influence. While there was still a considerable amount of instability in the region, the United States continued to work with the leaders to try to reach peace agreements, for example, the Oslo Accords. However, with the rise of terrorism in the region, especially after the attacks on the twin towers, the United States had to switch its focus on region building, to terror containment. This included the Bush Doctrine and war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The beginning of the Arab Springs seemed to be in the United States’ interest, as the United States has been attempting to prevent communism and radicalism from spreading in the area since the end of World War II. The rise of ISIS in 2014 became another concern for United States’ interest, but its recent decline has resulted in the United States gaining more influence in the region. 

    With Trump now and power and a proxy war occurring in Syria, it will be interesting to see how he responds. Recent years, the United States has interfered in Middle Eastern affairs under the pretenses of humanitarianism. However, I argue that the real interest of the United States is gaining and maintaining influence in the region in order to support its hegemonic reign. I believe this is especially true due to the Middle East’s abundant supply of oil. Each President since the end of World War II has taken steps to either insert pro-American leaders into power, resist radicalism and terrorism, or provide humanitarian aid. The United States has not put this much effort into any other region in the world. Therefore, I think it is fair to argue that the United States sees the richness of oil in the region as a necessity to its maintaining its powerful influence.